Trinitario people
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The Trinitarios is an Dominican American
criminal organization Organized crime (or organised crime) is a category of transnational, national, or local groupings of highly centralized enterprises run by criminals to engage in illegal activity, most commonly for profit. While organized crime is generally th ...
founded by Dominicans in
New York City New York, often called New York City or NYC, is the List of United States cities by population, most populous city in the United States. With a 2020 population of 8,804,190 distributed over , New York City is also the L ...
,
New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...
in 1993.


History

The Trinitarios were established in 1993 on
Rikers Island Rikers Island is a island in the East River between Queens and the Bronx that contains New York City's main jail complex. Named after Abraham Rycken, who took possession of the island in 1664, the island was originally under in size, but has ...
, the New York City jail,Luis Ferré-Sadurní & Barbara Marcolini
How a 15-Year-Old Ended Up Stabbed to Death Outside a Bronx Bodega
''New York Times'' (September 10, 2018).
by two Dominicans facing separate murder charges—Leonides "Junito" Sierra and Julio "Caballo" Marine. While on the West coast the Mexican Mafia and their alliances
Barrio 18 18th Street, also known as , , , or simply in Central America, is a multi-ethnic (largely Central American and Culture of Mexico, Mexican) Transnational crime, transnational criminal organization that started as a street gang in Los Angeles. It ...
, la Mara Salvatrucha and the rest of other Sureños controls the prisons and los barrios of California and Southwestern regions along with the Aryan Brotherhood and other
list of peckerwood gangs The following list of peckerwood gangs are defined as street gangs within the peckerwood subculture. Overview The peckerwood subculture had its beginnings in Oklahoma where the word was used to refer to white inmates in the 1930s. During the ...
who protect themselves from the African American gangs. The Trinitarios on the East Coast was built in Rikers Island prison to protect mainly Dominicans and other Hispanic nationalities from African American gangs or other American gangs. This Dominican gang is considered to be the very first Latino gang that originated in New York City and then later it spread out to the whole northeastern region of United States. The group was named for three revolutionaries of the
Dominican War of Independence The Dominican War of Independence made the Dominican Republic a sovereign state on February 27, 1844. Before the war, the island of Hispaniola had been united for 22 years when the newly independent nation, previously known as the Captaincy Gen ...
; its slogan is ''Dios, patria y libertad'' (the official motto of the Dominican Republic, "God, homeland and liberty").Their colors are
lime green Lime commonly refers to: * Lime (fruit), a green citrus fruit * Lime (material), inorganic materials containing calcium, usually calcium oxide or calcium hydroxide * Lime (color), a color between yellow and green Lime may also refer to: Botany ...
, as well as red, blue, and white (the colors of the Dominican Republic flag). The group suffered a major blow in 2009, as the
U.S. Attorney's Office for the Southern District of New York The United States Attorney for the Southern District of New York is the chief federal law enforcement officer in eight New York counties: New York (Manhattan), Bronx, Westchester, Putnam, Rockland, Orange, Dutchess and Sullivan. Establishe ...
dismantled the group through a series of prosecutions. In 2011, 50 members and associates of the Bronx Trinitarios Gang (BTG) were charged with federal racketeering, narcotics and firearms offenses. Forty-one defendants were charged with a
racketeering Racketeering is a type of organized crime in which the perpetrators set up a coercive, fraudulent, extortionary, or otherwise illegal coordinated scheme or operation (a "racket") to repeatedly or consistently collect a profit. Originally and of ...
conspiracy under the Racketeer Influenced and Corrupt Organizations Act (RICO) in connection to alleged participation in a criminal enterprise that included narcotics trafficking, murder and attempted murder. In 2014, the Trinitarios' co-founder and former leader, Sierra, was sentenced to 19 years in prison for the racketeering conspiracy, to run consecutively with a 22½ year to
life Life is a quality that distinguishes matter that has biological processes, such as signaling and self-sustaining processes, from that which does not, and is defined by the capacity for growth, reaction to stimuli, metabolism, energ ...
sentence in New York that Sierra was already serving as a result of his 1989 murder conviction. Some 140 other members, including Sierra's chief lieutenants, were also convicted and received lengthy prison sentences. Later, however, the group had a resurgence. Internal factions of the Trinitarios have battled with one another, beginning in 2011, when a leader of a Sunset Park, Brooklyn chapter of the Trinitarios attempted to expand to the Bronx without authorization. The gang war that ensued intensified in 2018, with several shootings.


Membership, organization, and criminal activities

In 2011, a
New York City Police Department The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest in ...
estimated that there were 3,181 Trinitarios in the city, about 5% of the total number of members of New York gangs. Their numbers grew rapidly around 2007–2008, but later remained stabilized. The gang operates mainly in New York and
New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delaware ...
, with activities in Upper Manhattan, the
Bronx The Bronx () is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Bronx County, in the state of New York. It is south of Westchester County; north and east of the New York City borough of Manhattan, across the Harlem River; and north of the New Y ...
,
Queens Queens is a borough of New York City, coextensive with Queens County, in the U.S. state of New York. Located on Long Island, it is the largest New York City borough by area. It is bordered by the borough of Brooklyn at the western tip of Long ...
, Albany and
Long Island Long Island is a densely populated island in the southeastern region of the U.S. state of New York (state), New York, part of the New York metropolitan area. With over 8 million people, Long Island is the most populous island in the United Sta ...
. It also has a presence elsewhere in the
Eastern Seaboard of the United States The East Coast of the United States, also known as the Eastern Seaboard, the Atlantic Coast, and the Atlantic Seaboard, is the coastline along which the Eastern United States meets the North Atlantic Ocean. The eastern seaboard contains the coa ...
, including
Rhode Island Rhode Island (, like ''road'') is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It is the List of U.S. states by area, smallest U.S. state by area and the List of states and territories of the United States ...
, Georgia,
Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...
,
Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...
,
Maryland Maryland ( ) is a state in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It shares borders with Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware and the Atlantic Ocean to ...
,
Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...
, as well as
Tennessee Tennessee ( , ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked state in the Southeastern region of the United States. Tennessee is the 36th-largest by area and the 15th-most populous of the 50 states. It is bordered by Kentucky to th ...
. In Spain, membership of the Trinitarios is predominantly Dominican, but also Bolivian, Colombian and Spanish. Such Latin American gangs spread to Spain as a result of mass deportations from the United States of Latin American immigrants with criminal records. The Trinitarios are known for their high degree of organization, including a hierarchical structure,Drug Market Analysis, 2009
New York/New Jersey
High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area The High Intensity Drug Trafficking Area (HIDTA) program is a drug-prohibition enforcement program run by the United States Office of National Drug Control Policy. It was established in 1990 after the Anti-Drug Abuse Act of 1988 was passed. The HID ...
, National Drug Intelligence Center, U.S. Department of Justice, pp. 5-6, 11.
Jan Ransom
'Junior' Guzman Killing: 5 Convicted of Hacking Innocent Teenager to Death
''New York Times'' (June 14, 2019).
as well as for their use of brutal violence. Testimony given against Trinitarios in court indicated that "one needs a sponsor to join, and once in, new members receive a rule book, take an oath and swear to abide by the gang's constitution." The gang's "weapon of choice" is the machete, but members also carry baseball bats, guns, and knives. Criminal activities perpetrated by Trinitarios include
drug dealing The illegal drug trade or drug trafficking is a global black market dedicated to the cultivation, manufacture, distribution and sale of prohibited drugs. Most jurisdictions prohibit trade, except under license, of many types of drugs throug ...
, in
heroin Heroin, also known as diacetylmorphine and diamorphine among other names, is a potent opioid mainly used as a recreational drug for its euphoric effects. Medical grade diamorphine is used as a pure hydrochloride salt. Various white and brow ...
and
cocaine Cocaine (from , from , ultimately from Quechuan languages, Quechua: ''kúka'') is a central nervous system (CNS) stimulant mainly recreational drug use, used recreationally for its euphoria, euphoric effects. It is primarily obtained from t ...
, as well as assaults and home invasions. The Trinitarios have infiltrated schools as a recruiting ground.


Notable crimes committed by members

Three Trinitarios members, including the ''Primera'' (leader) of the gang's Rhode Island chapter, were indicted by a federal grand jury on firearms and drug charges on August 25, 2010, after being captured on an undercover
Federal Bureau of Investigation The Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) is the domestic intelligence and security service of the United States and its principal federal law enforcement agency. Operating under the jurisdiction of the United States Department of Justice, ...
(FBI) videotape attending an organizational meeting in
Providence Providence often refers to: * Providentia, the divine personification of foresight in ancient Roman religion * Divine providence, divinely ordained events and outcomes in Christianity * Providence, Rhode Island, the capital of Rhode Island in the ...
. A fourth member was charged on state firearm charges. Seven
Barcelona Barcelona ( , , ) is a city on the coast of northeastern Spain. It is the capital and largest city of the autonomous community of Catalonia, as well as the second most populous municipality of Spain. With a population of 1.6 million within ci ...
-based members were convicted of using a kitchen knife to carve a fifty centimeter "X" into the back of a gang member deemed a traitor for associating with MS-13 on March 21, 2012. During the trial, the Trinitarios were designated a criminal organization which allowed heavier sentences to be imposed upon the perpetrators and the gang's leaders. On the same day as the ruling – May 11, 2014 – a brawl occurred in
Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
involving Trinitarios and
Ñetas The NETA Association (Asociación Pro-Derechos del Confinado, "Association for Prisoners' Rights", Asociación NETA, or simply NETA) is the name of a gang that began in the Puerto Rico prison system and spread to the United States mainland. Altho ...
, leading to the arrests of twenty-six gang members. In August 2018 several Trinitarios gang members were arrested for shooting at a house in
Lawrence, Massachusetts Lawrence is a city located in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, on the Merrimack River. At the 2020 census, the city had a population of 89,143. Surrounding communities include Methuen to the north, Andover to the southwest, and Nort ...
. A Trinitarios gang member was arrested in January 2019 for the shooting of a 16-year-old girl in Lawrence. In June 2018, a Trinitario gang member from
Haverhill, Massachusetts Haverhill ( ) is a city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States. Haverhill is located 35 miles north of Boston on the New Hampshire border and about 17 miles from the Atlantic Ocean. The population was 67,787 at the 2020 United States Cen ...
was arrested for the murder of a rival
Gangster Disciples The Gangster Disciples are an African American street and prison gang, which was formed in the South Side of Chicago in the late 1960s, by Larry Hoover, leader of the Supreme Gangsters, and David Barksdale, leader of the Black Disciples. The tw ...
member. A Haverhill detective wrote that the arrests were in connection with an ongoing feud (a gang war) between the Trinitarios and their rivals, the Gangster Disciples, that had resulted in multiple shootings." In November 2019, in Massachusetts, 18 Trinitarios were among 32 arrested in "Operation Emerald Crush." The operation involved more than 70 federal, state and local officers who carried out the arrests of suspects alleged to have sold massive amounts of firearms and drugs including cocaine, fentanyl, heroin and crack cocaine with an estimated street value of $120,000. Authorities confiscated 79 firearms in the operation. Out of the 79 guns, which came in from out of state, 17 were stolen and at least two were used in shootings. In one case, undercover officers were able to buy 27 guns in one transaction.


Death of Lesandro Guzman-Feliz

On June 20, 2018, in the Bronx, 15-year-old Lesandro "Junior" Guzman-Feliz left his apartment to loan a friend five dollars. Guzman-Feliz was a member of the
New York City Police Department The New York City Police Department (NYPD), officially the City of New York Police Department, established on May 23, 1845, is the primary municipal law enforcement agency within the City of New York, the largest and one of the oldest in ...
(NYPD) Explorers program, a group for youths interested in law enforcement careers, and aspired to become a detective. Five Trinitarios, who were "hunting their enemies," mistakenly believed that the teenager was a young man that had disrespected one of the gang member nieces. The boy whom they were actually after bore a striking resemblance to Junior, therefore he was believed to be the boy they were after. After the murder a leader of the gang went on social media and apologized to Juniors family, and said they had locked the killers out of their gang. The gang members entered the bodega at Bathgate Avenue and East 183rd Street where Guzman-Feliz was seeking shelter, dragged him onto the sidewalk in front of the store, and beat him and stabbed him with machetes and large knives. The murder was captured by security cameras and cell phone-video. The murder outraged the public, and video footage of the murder went
viral Viral means "relating to viruses" (small infectious agents). Viral may also refer to: Viral behavior, or virality Memetic behavior likened that of a virus, for example: * Viral marketing, the use of existing social networks to spread a marke ...
. In June 2019, five Trinitarios were convicted of
first-degree murder Murder is the unlawful killing of another human without justification or valid excuse, especially the unlawful killing of another human with malice aforethought. ("The killing of another person without justification or excuse, especially the c ...
and other charges, including
conspiracy A conspiracy, also known as a plot, is a secret plan or agreement between persons (called conspirers or conspirators) for an unlawful or harmful purpose, such as murder or treason, especially with political motivation, while keeping their agree ...
and gang assault, in the murder. Two gang members who participated in the attack testified for the prosecution, revealing the inner workings of the gang. After the verdict was rendered, one of the killers shouted, "''Popote, hasta la muerte!''" ("Trinitarios until death"). In July 2022, two leaders of a ‘set’ or faction were convicted of murder for ordering the killing. Several others are awaiting trial in connection with the murder.


References

{{Organized crime groups in America Organizations established in 1993 1993 establishments in New York City Hispanic-American gangs Latino street gangs Gangs in New Jersey Gangs in New York City Gangs in Massachusetts Gangs in Pennsylvania Gangs in Rhode Island Gangs in Spain